Scapegoat

Chapter 10

The papers that had been on Cynnie’s
desk were not scattered on the floor. A few crumbled sheets of paper sat near
the trash. The owner of the room was pacing back and forth, a distressed look
on her face. Her arms were behind her back, her left hand hooked by her right.
Her eyebrows were furrowed. She was deep in thought.

It had been
three hours since she had talked to Darko. She did not know what to make of the
situation. He was asking her to go against everything society had taught her.
She knew he did not trust authority, especially when it came from the
government. Was he just bitter and resentful, or did he have a point? Were the
way sex offenders were treated really going too far?

She was
still afraid. Even if Darko was sincere in his desire not to hurt anyone again,
that did not mean he would not do it. He had not meant to do it the first time.
What if something like that happened again? It was easier to do something once
it was already done once. Perhaps his anger at the way he was treated would get
the better of him and cause him to lash out. Maybe he did not have as much
control as he thought he did. She was afraid of what he was capable of.

On the other
hand, if Darko had really not meant to do anything wrong the first time, did
that not mean that anyone was capable of horrific acts? That could have easily
been someone like her brother. Did she have a right to judge when there were
other forces that sometimes overpowered personal desire to do good?

She knew it
was not good to judge people harshly. She believed in second chances. She
believed people could change. How were they supposed to prove they had changed
if they were never given the chance? They needed to be given a little trust at
a time. Darko had always been nice to her. Despite her brothers’ suspicions,
she always thought he was a good guy. Why should her opinion change now? She
would not want his opinion to change of her if he discovered all of her faults
and past mistakes.

She surmised
that Darko may have changed, if there was anything to change at all. Of course,
there was always the possibility that he was lying or glossing over the truth.
He had said he would not hurt her. Could she trust that? She would be taking a
risk. At the moment, she could not decide if it was worth it. It needed further
thought.

She was
still undecided on Monday when Ben gathered her and John in the living room.
Her oldest brother was dressed in a Packers shirt and hat. He had something
flat and rectangular in his hand. He was grinning from ear to ear. Cynnie knew
what this had to be about.

“They’ve
arrived!” Ben exclaimed. He turned over what was in his hands to show his
siblings. They were Packers tickets. “Which games do you want to go to? Let’s
start with division rivals. Which one of you wants the Lions? I had them last
year.”

Cynnie
allowed herself to smile. Her grandfather had had Packers season tickets. When
he died, he left them to Ben because he was such a big fan. That was usually
how one gained Packers tickets. There was a waiting list, but it took forever
to get to the top. Parents would put their unborn children on the list in hopes
that they would get tickets by the time they were 30. Lambeau Field had been
sold out since the 60’s. It gave the fans a great sense of pride and tradition.
No other team could boast of such a thing.

“I’ll take
them,” John said. “I don’t mind Lions games.”

Ben nodded.
“Good.” He ripped off two tickets and handed them to his brother. Then he
turned to Cynnie.

He did not
even have to say anything. “Vikings, please,” she said with a grin.

A slight
frown crossed Ben’s face. “I don’t know if I should give those to you after
what happened last time.”

Cynnie
rolled her eyes. “That was three years ago, Ben. Get over it.”

Ben crossed
his arms and narrowed his eyes at her. “It was my turn. You begged me to give
you the tickets.”

Cynnie
raised her eyebrows. “How was I supposed to know Favre was actually going to
sign with the Vikings? We lost anyway. It was humiliating.”

“Why would
you want to see him after what he
did?” John said bitterly. “That’s why I gave my ticket to Cynnie the next
year.”

Cynnie
smirked. “It was so funny to see your face when I showed up,” she said to Ben.

The oldest
boy shot her a glare. “See? You got to see both
games!”

Cynnie
shrugged. “I like Vikings games. You went last year. Is that not enough?”

Ben sighed
and shook his head. “Fine.” He reluctantly tore the tickets off and handed them
to her. “By the way, you have to make up your mind about Brett.”

Cynnie
frowned. “What do you mean?”

Ben raised
his eyebrows. “You know what. You have to choose a side. Do you love him or
hate him?”

Cynnie let
out a groan. “Do I have to?”

“Yes,” John
said emphatically. “You can’t stay on the sidelines for everything. Make a
judgment. Stand by it.”

Cynnie shook
her head. “How am I supposed to make up my mind? I don’t know everything about
the situation.”

John rolled
his eyes. “It’s not that hard. Why do you do this about everything? This is how
you get into trouble.”

“Don’t you
have enough information yet?” Ben asked. “You have to decide what you think is
right.”

Cynnie bit
her lip but did not say anything more. She was bad at choosing. She wanted too
much to make the right decision. Perhaps that was impossible. Was she really
just supposed to use her best judgment? She thought of Darko. She had to make a
judgment right now about whether she could trust him. If she did nothing, she
realized she was already making a decision.

She could
not ignore the sympathy she felt towards him. She wanted to help him. She did
not know if she would just be able to forget him. Fine then. She had her
choice. Her attention snapped back to Ben. She had more tickets to get.

A thought
suddenly crossed her mind. She remembered how interested in the Packers Darko
had seemed at training camp. She then thought about how passionate the fans
were about their team. They included everyone… including a sex offender? Maybe.
If they got to know him first. She did not know if it was likely to work, but
she could not think of anything better. She had to tell Darko!

After
claiming her three other tickets, she was out of there. Luckily, Darko’s
apartment was not too far away. Someone was coming out when she arrived. She
managed to slip inside before the woman closed the door. She raced up the
stairs to Darko’s room. She stood there panting for a few seconds. She had to
get her thoughts in order. She took a deep breath before knocking.

The door
opened a crack. Darko seemed surprised to see her. “Hi,” he nearly mumbled. He
opened the door all the way. He was wearing holey jeans and an orange
tee-shirt. His movements seemed almost cautious. “Come in.”

Cynnie gave
him a weak smile. “Thanks.” Elva the cat was on her heels as soon as she
stepped into the room. Cynnie chuckled as she bent down to pet her. This cat
was so much like a dog; it was amusing. She stood up again and gave Darko a
warmer smile. He could not be that bad if his cat loved him so much. Animals
could sense stuff like that. “How have you been?”

Darko
shrugged his shoulders. “Fine.”

He did not
say anymore. She knew he was waiting for her to get to the point. She knew he
did not like idle chit chat. Fine. She sucked in a breath and tried to gather
up all of her courage. “I want to be your friend,” she began slowly.

Darko raised
his eyebrows slightly. There was a hint of surprise in his eyes. “You do?”

Cynnie
nodded. “I believe you. I don’t think you’re dangerous. I want to give you a
chance.” Her voice became stronger and more confident as she spoke. She was
sure she was doing the right thing.

He seemed
sincere, so she continued. There were a couple things she was curious about.
Maybe he could put her mind at ease. “Why are there so many names on the
registry? Are there really that many sex offenders? They can’t all be
dangerous.”

Darko
studied her for a minute before nodding. “You’re right. They’re not. In fact,
only around ten to twenty percent are truly dangerous. Even most of them are
unlikely to ever commit another sex crime. The recidivism rate for sex
offenders is five percent, the second lowest for any crime behind murder.” His
face was calm, much different from the last time she had seen him.

Cynnie
frowned. What he said did not make any sense to her. “I always thought sex
offenders were dangerous rapists or child molesters who couldn’t control her
actions.” She shook her head. From the look on Darko’s face, she had been
wrong. It was time to find the truth. “What is everyone else in for then?”

“It varies
by state,” Darko said in a steady voice. “Some convict juveniles and put them
on the registry. Anything from sharing porn to touching another child
inappropriately is considered a crime. Urinating in public is enough to get on
the registry in some states. And then there is the classic ‘Romeo and Juliet’
scenario where an adult, often only 18 or 19 years of age, has a relationship –
not always sexual – with some someone under the age of consent. The age of
consent can range from 15 to 18 depending on the state.” He gave her an
emphatic look. “Do you really think these people, these kids, are dangerous and
need to be watched? Do you think they’ll ever commit another sex crime in their
life?”

Cynnie shook
her head slowly. “Probably not.” She could hardly believe what he was telling
her. Could it be true? What were their policy makers thinking? She bit her lip.
“What about the others?”

“There are
many like me who have only committed one offense,” Darko explained. “Sometimes,
especially if it involved touching a child, this leaves you on the registry for
life. These people will probably not reoffend either because they realize the
horror of what they’ve done.” He gave her a long stare. “Believe me, the victim
has psychological effects because of what was done, but so does the one who did
the deed. It does not help when the system does not allow you to move on.”

Cynnie
nodded. That did not seem right either, though it was more understandable.
“What about those who had more than one victim?”

“Those
people are likely to be dangerous, and you could argue that they should be on
some sort of list. But the list should be private for police to use and there
should be a way to get off of it for good behavior.”

That made
sense. If people had an incentive to do good, then they often would. There was
one more category left. “And those who do reoffend?”

Darko paused
before responding. “It depends on the circumstance, but they probably should
stay in jail. Treatment should also be given, which has proven very successful.
If they pass, then they should be let go while being supervised by police.”

Cynnie
considered this for a minute. She did not know much about criminals, but it
seemed to make sense. It appealed to her sense of empathy as well as logic. How
could anyone disagree with him? “It seems like there should be a system where
sex offenders are evaluated on their likeliness of reoffending and not just the
fact that they have committed a sex crime.”

“I agree,”
Darko said. “You don’t even know half of the problems the registry creates. It
was supposed to help increase public safety, but can people know who is truly
dangerous among all of those who aren’t?”

Cynnie
nodded. That made sense as well. There was still one thing bugging her. “Why
are so many people on the list in the first place? Why is there no one
campaigning to reform it?”

A darker
look crossed Darko’s face. “Because, like you said, the public thinks that the
worst sex offenders describe all of them. This is an extremely emotional
subject. The laws get expanded after a particularly tragic – though rare –
case.” He shook his head. “Good policies do not come when people are in an
emotional state. They ignore logic and efficiency and enact what feels good.
Anger and hatred fuel the public. They can’t listen to reason. Politicians are
supposed to be above this and protect minority groups like us, but all they
care about is getting re-elected. No one is going to vote for someone who sides
with sex offenders.” He smiled bitterly.

“But that’s
not fair!” Cynnie exclaimed. Did not sex offenders have rights too?

“Fair has
nothing to do with it. There is no justice for sex offenders. We’re all
monsters in the eyes of society.” He turned his head away, a certain sadness
overcoming his face.

Cynnie
suddenly felt a wave of sympathy for him. No wonder he had moved around so
much. She wished there was something she could do for him. Maybe there was. “Do
you think there’s a way that you could get people to accept you as a person, if
just in a small community like Green Bay?”

Darko looked
at her warily. He appeared tired. “I don’t know. There’s got to be a chance.
Trying is better than giving up.”

Cynnie took
a deep breath. “I think I know a way.”

Darko raised
his eyebrows, now appearing more interested. “What is it?”

“Well,”
Cynnie began slowly. She began pacing the room. Elva followed behind her. “To
get the people here to accept you, even after they find out what you did, you
have to connect with them on the deepest level possible. You have to prove to
them you are one of them.” She stopped and turned to look at him seriously. “I
think the best way to do that is through the Packers.”

Darko
blinked. “The Packers?” he sighed. “Cynnie, I don’t think-”

“Trust me on
this,” Cynnie said quickly before he could finish. “You don’t know
Wisconsinites as well as I do. This could work.” She gave him an encouraging
smile.

Darko
frowned. “Fine. I’ll try anything. Where do we begin.”

Cynnie
grinned. She was glad he had agreed to her plan. She was sure it would work! It
had to. “Well, my brother Ben has season tickets to the Packers.” She smiled,
waiting for him to be impressed. When he just stared at her, she frowned and
continued. “He distributes the tickets amongst John, me, and him. I’ve got one
game with each of my brothers. I also have two games where I can bring anyone I
want. I want you to come with me.”

Darko raised
his eyebrows in surprise. “Me? Don’t y'all kill to get those tickets?”

Cynnie
shrugged. “Something like that. But I think it could help you. Nothing else
will show that you’re serious about the Packers.”

Darko seemed
to consider this and then shrugged. “Ok. When’s the first game?”

Cynnie’s
mouth formed into a wide grin. “It’s their opening game against the 49ers –
September 9th.”

“That sounds
fine,” Darko said.

Cynnie was
excited. She could not wait to show him just what living in Green Bay was
about!

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